State of the Pen: Atlanta Braves
By Editorial Staff
Atlanta’s three-headed monster at the back of their bullpen has thrown a lot of innings. And now concern of how much gas they have in the tank is becoming a big story. Jonny Venters has thrown the second most innings in the NL for a reliever with 86. Craig Kimbrel, the rookie closer has thrown the fifth most with 76.1 and Eric O’Flaherty has thrown 71.1.
Each member of the trio threw an inning last night in Atlanta’s 7-4 victory in Washington last night. Venters was the only one who gave up a run.
A root of much of the worry started when Craig Kimbrel started getting scored on. It hadn’t happened in a while. In fact, from June 14th to September 8th, he went for almost 38 scoreless innings. On the 9th of this month, he failed to convert his 25th save opportunity in a row, as he gave up a pair of runs in St. Louis. Then on the 18th and 19th, he was scored on some more, the latter resulted in another blown save.
In terms of level of concern, Kimbrel and Venters may be neck and neck. In the case of Kimbrel, this isn’t a situation where the kid is a converted closer. He has never been a starter since joining the organization. So the 76.1 innings he’s pitched this year is the largest workload the 23-year-old has ever seen. And with the postseason hanging in the balance, the Braves desperately need to find a way for him to give a little more.
Last night Kimbrel’s velocity looked similar to what you usually see with the kid. He gave up one hard hit ball, but also had two strikeouts. He didn’t unleash the slider as much, which may be design, as the Braves want him to save his arm.
Venters’ velocity looked fine last night. In fact, he was routinely hitting 97 on the gun, which is good for him. The sinker was still humming over the plate at 95 mph.
Something happened to Venters last night though that has never happened, and I wonder if it is a red flag for what’s to come in October. Jayson Werth actually uncorked one of Venters fastballs to left for a solo home run. Hey, it’s one home run, no big deal right? Well, it kind of is when a pitcher had never given up a homer to a right-handed batter since becoming a major-leaguer.
Personally, I think Venters is gased. His delivery looks like a bit more of a struggle for him to get through these days, and I do think the fact he gave a homer to Werth is kind of nutty. Venters was the nastiest reliever in baseball for the first two months – it was an unbelievable undertaking to get the ball out of the in-field against him. Any extended period of rest he can get before the postseason starts should be considered a really good thing. He should be ok. But Atlanta needs to clinch this wild card spot asap.
As for O’ Flaherty, I didn’t see a whole lot to be concerned with last night. He gave up a couple hits, but in the end, he isn’t the flame thrower that Kimbrel and Venters are. He basically throws a barrage of 91 mph sinkers, and doesn’t seem like he’s straining himself too much. He’s a bigger guy too, which might help.